Reborn as the Failed Lord with my Resource Gathering System. - Chapter 195

Chapter 195: All hail the miracle worker.
VROOOOM! Brooom!

The guttural, mechanical roar of the generator starting echoed through the entirety of the field, a sound so alien and powerful it seemed to shake the very bones of those standing nearby.

People watched in awe and terror as the iron beast roared to life.

The external fuel tanks flared with controlled, rhythmic bursts of flame every time a precise measure of the refined Diesel was injected into the chambers.

The heavy iron rails turned the massive cylinders, forcing them to pump with a violence that would have shattered normal steel.

Inside the dynamo cage, the high-rank Thunder Core spun at supersonic speeds. It whined, a high-pitched scream of agitated magic, until—CRACK!—visible arcs of blue lightning began to spark at the far end of the machine, dancing wildly into the copper coils.

It was working. The beast was awake.

Still, even if most of the audience watched with their jaws dropped, shocked at how massive and loud the generator was, those who built it and those who supervised knew not to count their eggs before they hatched.

Yes, the generator had begun to work. The engine was spinning, and the lightning was flowing.

But whether or not the Grid—the fragile network of tar-coated wires and rune boxes—could handle the intense surge of raw electricity was another matter entirely.

If the calculations were off by even a fraction, the wires wouldn’t transmit power; they would melt, or worse, explode.

As such, they all had their eyes glued to the glass bulbs mounted on the poles, waiting to see how they would react now that the generator was active.

Would it work and finally light up the whole place? Or would it fail, plunging them back into darkness and slapping them in the face with their own hubris?

Dorian kept still, his arms crossed, his eyes also glued to the nearest streetlamp.

The System had already told him it would be a success. It had guaranteed a 1000% success rate. And yet, a part of him couldn’t help but feel anxious. This was engineering, not just magic. It was a physical thing, prone to physical failures. For the first time, he felt like the System had given him the idea, but the execution was entirely on him.

‘Come on,’ he thought, gritting his teeth. ‘Don’t embarrass me now.’

He closed his eyes, trying to calm himself down after he noticed it was taking a long time for the lights to come on. The seconds stretched into eternities.

His wives noticed this, as always. They decided to keep their focus for him, their faith unwavering.

Not even a second later, Seraphina’s voice rang out, filled with pure delight.

“Darling, look! It came on!!!”

Another voice followed as well, belonging to Emily, the new Governor.

“It worked! It’s working!!!” she sang out excitedly, her usual warrior composure shattered by joy.

Cheers began to erupt from all corners of the field. Everyone celebrated, hugging one another as they screamed their heads off, as though they had just witnessed the birth of a new god.

Dorian, realizing the chaos around him, slowly opened his eyes.

He was immediately greeted with a rush of blinding, pristine white light, causing him to squint his eyes a bit.

By the time he could fully open his eyes and adjust, he saw it all.

The bright bulbs were lighting up the entire place, stretching in a perfect line towards the far end of the horizon.

At first glance, it looked as though he had awakened in a different place entirely. This wasn’t the dark, dingy Red District anymore. The shadows that usually harbored crime and filth were banished by a clean, steady glow.

Each bulb was bright enough to light up a significant radius, and cumulatively, they had turned night into day. Because one of the villages was close to where the site was, the entire village had brightened up as though the sun itself had decided to rise early.

Locals—old men who had lived their whole lives in squalor, and children who had only ever known the dim flicker of tallow candles—stared at the sky in awe. They couldn’t go to the site to witness the machine getting switched on, but the results were undeniable. Their eyes sparkled with a mixture of shock, fear, and overwhelming joy.

Just as the rumors said, Lord Dorian had performed a miracle for all to see.

“Honestly, never in a million years did I think we could generate light like this without the use of Lightflies or high-tier magic. I must say, husband, you’ve really outdone yourself this time.”

Ishtar added her praise, her voice dripping with admiration. Her eyes shifted towards Dorian, who was simply standing there, also in awe at his own invention.

Maria smiled a bit, unable to hide her pride in his work. She stood straighter, her hand resting on her sword, looking at the light as if it were a conquered enemy.

As for Seraphina, she was practically beaming with joy, her smile bright enough to rival the bulbs themselves. She had helped build this. Her alchemy had made the fuel. This was her victory, too.

Revina had a similar, albeit calmer, look on her face. Only this time, she was both shocked and amazed. Just when she assumed Dorian could not surprise her any more than he already had—dragon taming, god defying—he went ahead and pulled this off. He had fundamentally changed the way her kingdom could function.

‘Hahaha, no shit! It actually worked.’ Dorian held the rolled-up blueprint tight in his hand. ‘The cooling system is holding. The voltage step-down is working. But that’s not even the point.’

His eyes widened with a hunger that had nothing to do with food.

‘Since it’s not dependent on a river, I can build this anywhere. It barely sips the diesel, so the fuel efficiency is through the roof. I can put one in the capital. I can put one in every major city. I can charge for the installation, charge for the maintenance, and charge for the fuel.’

He looked at the glowing lights, but all he saw were gold coins raining from the sky.

‘Yo, this is money. Hahaha! This is infinite money in my backyard!!!’

“Look! It’s Lord Dorian!”

Someone from the crowd pointed at Dorian, spotting him on the hill illuminated by the new streetlights. This snapped Dorian from his greedy thoughts, causing him to look towards the person.

“Lord Dorian!”

“It’s him! The Miracle Worker!”

More and more people turned their gazes away from the light and towards Dorian. To them, he was the source of this magic. He was the one who drove out the bandits, and now he was the one bringing the sun to the night.

Normally, at a time like this, Dorian would be expected to make a speech. A humble acceptance of their gratitude. But not a single humble thought clicked in his mind.

If anything, he wanted to go back to thinking about how he could fully monetize the new invention to the best of his ability. He was already calculating tax rates for electricity usage.

Just as he was biting his lower lip in frustration, trying his best not to make a disgusted look at the crowd for interrupting his financial planning, they suddenly started chanting.

“All Hail Miracles! All Hail Lord Dorian!”

“All Hail Miracles! All Hail Lord Dorian!”

What started as small, scattered chants from a few people erupted into a loud frenzy as everyone began to chant the same thing. The sound rolled over the hills, competing with the roar of the engine.

Even Maria and the others, standing right next to him, began chanting as well, visible smiles on their faces. They knew him too well. They knew that if there was one thing Dorian was weak against—other than money—it was people praising him.

“All Hail-!”

Dorian’s annoyance vanished instantly. He straightened his back, flipped his hair, and struck a pose. He gave them the opportunity to praise him even more, soaking it in like sunlight.

While the girls were laughing at his sudden shift in demeanor, the crowd kept feeding his ego, sending him into a state of total bliss.

The work was not done. They would still need to set grids at different locations in the city and then eventually spread it towards the entire capital. But that was something they could do later.

For now, they were willing to rejoice in their accomplishment. It was something no one else in the history of the kingdom—perhaps the history of the world—had done before.

Who else but Lord Dorian to do something so completely out of the ordinary?